Anxiety status among high school students after Wenchuan earthquake

Objective To investigate the prevalence of anxiety related emotional disorders among high school students one and a half years after the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake. Methods We surveyed 2 729 grade one or grade two students from three high schools in the disaster stricken areas using the 41-item version of the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders(SCARED)scale. Results The prevalence of anxiety related emotional disorders among the students was 44.6%.Girls reported a significantly higher prevalence than boys(χ²=52.163,P<0.001).The total anxiety level of students in earthquake stricken areas was higher than that of the norms of Chinese urban children(t=9.324,14.695, P<0.001).The comparison between different grades showed that generalized anxiety factor score in senior high school students was higher than that of the junior students and that the students of grade two of senior high school had the highest social phobia anxiety score.Students who had experienced earthquake related events showed a higher anxiety prevalence than those who didn't(χ²=20.419,5.155,5.994,38.514,17.302;P<0.05 or 0.001). Conclusion Students in earthquake stricken areas had universal anxiety related emotional disorders one and a half years after the disaster.More attention should be paid on girls,high grade students and those with earthquake related event experiences.